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Wanted: hemp farmer Laisenia Savu

Fiji newspaper canard landed in Thun?

A house and two cars: a Fiji Islander is believed to earn incredibly as hemp farmer. This was reported in the "Fiji Times". Reality or newspaper hoax 'made in paradise'?

The Fiji Islands: whoever hears this name, perceives sun, sand and palms - in short, a paradise on earth. Whoever lives there on this Pacific island nation north of New Zealand hardly intends to leave this dream earth speck and to migrate to the grey-skyed city of Thun. But exactly this a Fiji Islander has done and made his fortune here. Or, maybe not really?

For the industry

But first the story. In August, "The Fiji Times" published an article about a citizen named Laisenia Savu. The title"Savu turns hemp farmer". The 32-year old Mister Savu allegedly, according to the newspaper, married a Swiss eight years ago and settled with her in the Thun region. Here, the newspaper reports further, he plants 'industrial hemp' - hemp for industrial purposes. While one is able to smoke this kind of hemp, one does not get the 'high' due to the very limited active agent - on the contrary one might have a substantial cough. On the contrary, industrial hemp serves as the basis for the production of textiles and other products like cosmetics and food products (for example for the hemp bred which is nowadays sold in various bakeries around Thun).

On 10'000 square metres

According to the "Fiji Times", Mister Savu is planting his hemp on an area the size of two soccer fields, thus resulting in 10'000 square metres. He occupies twelve employees from Holland, Italy, Sri Lanka and Switzerland. Once a month, he travels to Holland to buy new seeds. Last year, he harvested 87 kilograms for which he earned 12'000 Swiss francs per kilo. From this revenue he bought a double storey house "near a lake in Thun and two cars". Thus far the facts as serves by the "Fiji Times" to its readers.

Savu, the unheard of

The Thuner Tagblatt (TT) would have loved to make contact with Mister Savu and to ask him about his experience with his hemp business. But that was the start of our difficulties. Because: nobody knows a Mister Savu. In the electronic phone book there is no entry under this name. Furthermore, people familiar with the region and insiders from the hemp scene were just shaking there head when asked. Everything seemed really strange, because whoever plants hemp on a farm the size of two soccer fields can't keep this secret long enough. The cantonal police has also not made more progress than the TT. If follows, however, the story with interest, but was so far unable to dig deeper. Police spokesman Jürg Mosimann simply titles the story as "confusing". With which we wholeheartedly agree. Because the story reeks of contradictions and absurdities which arouse suspicion if this story is not a veritable newspaper hoax "made in Fiji".

Four contradictions

Contraction #1: Savu says that he eliminates the male hemp plants as soon as he can determine their sex. The fact is: sex of the plant plays no role with hemp for industrial purposes. This is only relevant if one wants to get doped with the weed. Because only female plants are causing the high.

Contradiction #2: For being able to plant industrial hemp, one does not have do drive all the way to Holland to secure the seeds. The can be bought locally - and fully legal. Whoever travels to the hemp capital of Europe to buy seeds does this only to produce the most potent drug hemp. In this, the Dutch are leaders.

Contradiction #3: Whoever plants industrial hemp on two soccer fields (approximately 10'000 square metres), can harvest not 87 kilograms but a multiple of this.

Contradiction #4: No person in his right mind pays 12'000 Swiss francs per kilogram of industrial hemp. For such, you only get a mere 60 Swiss francs per kilo - as research in the hemp scene revealed. As a comparison: for top quality drug hemp the producer currently gets 6'000 Swiss francs per kilo.

Thun: News from the "Fiji hoax"

Military bicycle instead of Rolls Royce

As expected: the article in the "Fiji Times" has revealed itself as a newspaper canard. The Fiji Island citizen Laisenia Savou has confirmed that he has no hemp plantation nor anything to do with hemp trade.

"Fiji newspaper canard landed in Thun?" Under this headline an article appeared in this newspaper on 18th December about a man named Laisenia Savou, a citizen of the Fiji Islands who, according to the newspaper "The Fiji Times", is planting hemp for industrial purposes on a hectare of land.

What has been already hinted in the TT has been confirmed: The article in the "Fiji Times" is pure fabrication. Not even the name of the supposed hemp farmer is correctly reported: he calls himself Savou and not Savu. The only thing correct in the "Fiji Times" article is that Savou lives in Thun. However, he puts emphasis on the fact that he neither plants hemp and has to employ twelve people nor is he involved, in whatever form, in the trade with hemp. Furthermore, he neither does own a house in the region, nor two cars. Correct is that he owns two military bikes. Since 1994 lives in Switzerland and has an approved work permit. He works as a barkeeper in Thun.

"Because of the article published last week, a lot of people believe that I am dealing with drugs. Although this is not true, I am afraid of negative reactions", explains Laisenia Savu who contacted our editors after the publication of our "Fiji" article. However, the reactions failed to eventuate. Only a friend jokingly asked him if he could sell him 200 kilograms of hemp.

Why a misleading article has appeared in the "Fiji Times" in which he tells of his experience as a hemp farmer he can't understand. He was in Fiji in July on holidays. He has been asked, by people he has never met before, about the legal status of hemp farming in Switzerland. "I was sitting on a bench and waited for the bus when three men approached me. One made a picture of me, the others asked me about the topic of hemp farming in Switzerland. Then came the bus, I boarded it and I have never seen these men since", explains now Savou. He says that he gave those men - who never exposed themselves as journalists - information of which he had knowledge. "However, I have never claimed that I, myself, are farming hemp in Switzerland and that I make money from it." The article of the "Fiji Times" of 17th August he only saw on the 18th December - in the Thuner Tagblatt. His surprise was thus correspondingly great…

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